[1] The episode was written and directed by Alan Ball and originally aired in the United States on HBO on September 7, 2008.

Meanwhile, Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) learns his sexual partner Maudette Pickens has sex with vampires and allows them to feed on her for money.

Jason's suspicious behavior prompts Sookie to try to read his mind, but he angrily rebuffs her and rushes off to work.

"Strange Love" is the name of a song by Slim Harpo, which plays during the scene where Sookie is talking to Tara while she drinks a margarita.

After bringing his critically acclaimed funeral home drama Six Feet Under to a close in 2005, Ball signed a two-year development deal with HBO.

"[2] After completing filming on his feature directorial debut Towelhead, Ball directed the pilot episode in the Summer of 2007[3] with cast members Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell and Brook Kerr.

Brooke Kerr, who was best known for her role on the NBC soap opera Passions, originally played the character of Tara Thornton.

Tom Shales of The Washington Post called True Blood "an audacious, outrageous, grisly comic drama ..."[8] and said the show "isn't meant to be an exercise in good taste.

Robert Abele from LA Weekly called the series an "effortlessly entertaining potboiler about the allure of dangerous attraction after probably a few too many shows drearily dissecting broken relationships.

"[9] Hal Boedecker of the Orlando Sentinel praised True Blood as being "one of the strongest new series in an uncertain fall ... Alan Ball has adapted Charlaine Harris' novels with wit, verve and passion.

"[10] Tim Goodman from the San Francisco Chronicle praised the performances in the episode, saying Paquin is "deceptively intriguing" and that both she and Moyer "do well here.

Michael Judge from The Wall Street Journal said the series "too often passes over the truly macabre or grotesque for gratuitous sex and violence" and then said "I know True Blood is supposed to be a sexy, easy-to-swallow mystery, but too often it ends up leaving a bad taste in one's mouth.

"[13] James Poniewozik from Time magazine called Ball's characters "caricatures" and continued by asking "Was the world dying for an HBO show with no subtext?